Pace of IPOs Gains Steam Near Year’s End

The market for initial public stock offerings may be set to sprint as the year winds down.

On Wednesday, International Steel Group Inc., created last year by financier Wilbur Ross through a combination of bankrupt steelmakers, increased the size and price of its planned IPO to as much as $446 million.

The company plans to sell 1.5 million more shares than it announced in July, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Cleveland-based International Steel expects to sell 16.5 million shares at $25 to $27 each, more than original estimated maximum share price of $24.

The deal is expected later this week.

International Steel is going public as the industry appears poised for a recovery, thanks to higher prices for the metal as the economy expands. Optimism about the industry hasn’t been dimmed by President Bush’s decision last week to eliminate controversial tariffs on imported steel.

In another IPO deal, student loan firm Nelnet Inc. on Wednesday said it sold 8 million shares at $21 each. That was above the range of $18 to $20 the Lincoln, Neb.-based company had estimated.

The stock will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NNI.

Also, San Jose-based Nptest Holding Corp., which designs and develops semiconductor test systems, said it sold 14.6 million shares Wednesday at $12 each, in the middle of its estimated $11-to-$13 range.

The stock will begin trading today on Nasdaq under the symbol NPTT.